Bobby Fischer disease. The triumph and tragedy of Bobby Fischer: why the great chess player in America is considered a psychopath and a criminal. “No matter how much Muhammad Ali asks, I will demand more”

(born in 1943) American chess player

The phenomenon of Robert Fischer - one of the outstanding chess players of our time - continues to excite to this day. And it all started with the fact that at the beginning of 1958 the chess world spread the amazing news: the next US Chess Championship, the qualifying stage of the individual world championship, ended with the victory of the fourteen-year-old prodigy Bobby Fischer.

Commenting on the defeat of experienced, highly skilled opponents, sports observers called the rise of the young chess player "a sensation on a national scale." Indeed, at that time a star rose in the American chess firmament, which shook the foundations of the entire chess world.

At first, Bobby Fischer's interests were limited to home fights with his older sister Joan. Then he began to meet with amateur chess players, learning the basics of a harsh uncompromising struggle.

In three years, Robert Fischer won the US Youth Championship twice, and in the open championships of the USA and Canada he began to compete with chess players of the rank of masters and already as a competitor had the opportunity to unravel the secrets of their skill, while remaining in the position of a dormant sphinx. Many famous chess players at first saw in him only a child with an elementary way of thinking - and suddenly they were faced with mature skill and an indomitable desire to win.

At fifteen, Robert Fischer becomes an international grandmaster, at sixteen - a contender for the world championship. The press again spoke about the unique natural talent, strong will and excellent health of the chess player.

This went on for fourteen years, during which fans either admired Fischer with renewed vigor, or were disappointed in him. And finally, at the age of thirty, he was officially recognized as the strongest chess player on the planet: having defeated Boris Spassky, he became the world champion.

However, Robert Fischer's path to the chess Olympus was difficult and controversial. His track record includes triumphs at the largest tournaments of our time, “clean” victories in two Candidates matches (6:0 in matches with B. Larsen and M. Taimanov) - and a long fourteen-year path to the chess throne, from the first victory in the US Championship to the match with Spassky in Reykjavik. He had almost the best sports performance in the history of chess - and three unsuccessful attempts to storm the chess Olympus. Possessing an iron logic of thinking and high professionalism, Robert Fischer at the same time committed acts that could not be explained, constantly conflicted with rivals and tournament organizers. To this was added his voluntary seclusion, and then his sudden departure from the world of chess. He disappeared at the height of his fame, but left behind "Fischer's problem."

It is difficult to explain another phenomenon of the chess player - his ability to excite the minds even now, after two and a half decades, when he has long gone into the shadows. Until now, in the reports of the world press, which hardly remembers in detail the sporting achievements of the American chess player, there are juicy details of his personal life, shocking revelations from his interviews and references to some otherworldly forces that once allegedly helped him to paralyze the will of his opponents.

Robert Fisher has always been surrounded by many myths.

Myth one: Robert Fisher is a big but painful talent. Most experts are unanimous in one thing: he is impulsive, easily excitable, has an unstable character, is afraid and does not understand life, therefore he often makes rash decisions that harm his own interests. Of course, Fischer has outstanding chess skills, but they pale before his unique ability to overthrow conventional morality. He is intolerant of other people's opinions, disdainful of the interests of rivals, commits acts that are on the verge of decency. All this can be explained by only one thing: Robert Fischer entered the international arena, expecting sincere admiration for his talent, and turned out to be worldly irrational, and sometimes simply helpless when he met with difficulties and misunderstanding. He never learned the diplomacy of human relations.

Very young, Bobby Fischer began to compete with the best chess players on the planet. With his victories, he challenged them and already, willy-nilly, had to oppose himself to the rest of the world.

This struggle with one's own shadow, which was accompanied by painful blows to self-esteem and the collapse of ambitious hopes for universal recognition, could not but end in defeat. He was entangled in contradictions, in outbursts of anger he made mistakes and was tormented by remorse. Complete liberation, which was combined with a huge concentration of attention, came only at the chessboard - in the world of abstract, perfect truths.

Myth two: Robert Fisher is a half-educated professional. At the age of sixteen, Bobby became a chess professional and completely abandoned school, having managed to finish two classes - two steps in each - and in parting said that all American teachers are fools.

He was repeatedly offered to continue his studies, but he did not want to even think about it, which is why the public and the press unanimously condemned the young man. Subsequently, journalists often wrote that Fischer read nothing but The Chess Informant and lightweight books about the adventures of Tarzan.

However, the range of his interests was extremely wide. He went in for sports - he was great at skiing, skating, swimming, wrestling, tennis. Bobby also knew lyrical and pop music well, studied foreign languages, being fluent in Spanish, German, Russian, Serbo-Croatian. He also worked in journalism.

Myth three: Fischer is a cold-blooded "killer". He toughened the chess fight, giving it, as never before, an element of sports intensity. "Woe to the vanquished!" - this call, sounded in the circus arenas of ancient Rome, Fischer adopted at the chessboard. Feeling his superiority, he used the slightest chance, and then a straightforward game to win - regardless of the tournament position - led his rivals to disaster.

For the first time in the history of chess, Robert Fischer achieved a 100% result in the US championship at the turn of 1963-1964, scored six victories at the finish of the 1970 interzonal tournament, and finally set a unique record - 12:0 - in the candidates' matches with M. Taimanov and B. Larsen. No one has yet experienced such a rout, and even at the grandmaster level, and, according to sound reasoning, could not experience it.

Many have been tempted to attribute the Fisher phenomenon to subjective causes. But again, speculation came to the fore. Most often noted that he has the best rating in the history of chess. He is accurate in the game, like an electronic machine, dangerous, like a tiger, and owns himself like an oriental sage. It is clear that the outcome of the fight against such a powerful opponent is a foregone conclusion. But if we discard all inventions, then the matter is explained by the fact that Robert Fischer always tried to find the strongest move in any position.

Myth four: Robert Fisher was killed by "star fever". Anything has happened in the history of chess. At the interzonal tournament in Stockholm in 1948, the tour schedule changed three times. There were times when the maestro was forced to play nine hours a day. And at the 1948 match-tournament in Holland, spectators were allowed to smoke and dine in the playing hall. Many more examples of this kind could be cited. In those years, only Fischer could show obstinacy and refuse to play in such conditions.

He considered taking care of the masters an indispensable duty of the chess world and strove for the ideal - the creation of the most favorable conditions for the game. Giving his best in the game, he always put forward an ultimatum: absolute silence, the maximum possible isolation from the audience, strict observance of the rules and the priority of the interests of the players. If these strict conditions were not respected, he announced a boycott of even the most important and most prestigious tournaments.

Neither the organizers nor fellow chess players were ready for such "whims". The former saw Robert Fisher as a troublemaker with the manners of a superstar, while the latter, on the sidelines, recognizing the validity of many of his demands, simply did not believe in the possibility of fundamental changes. There were those who rejoiced at the refusal of Robert Fischer to participate in tournaments in order not to meet with such a dangerous opponent.

Such, full of contradictory actions, was the fate of perhaps the most brilliant chess player in the entire history of chess. He retired from big chess at the height of his fame, leaving behind the title of an undefeated and invincible chess player.

Robert James Fisher was born on March 9, 1943 in Chicago, USA. After the end of World War II, when the boy was two years old, his father left the family, and his mother and children moved to Brooklyn. At the age of six, his sister Joan taught Robert to play chess, and almost immediately a natural gift for chess manifested itself.

Already at the age of thirteen, Fischer won the title of US junior champion, and a year later became the US champion, the youngest in history. At the age of fifteen, the chess player left school to devote himself entirely to chess.

Robert began his enchanting journey to the top in 1970 in a Candidates match with Mark Taimanov. This duel shocked the chess world. This has never happened before, in a battle between two outstanding players, one defeated the other with an incredible, dry score of 6:0. The beginning of another Candidates' match with Tigran Petrosian also turned out to be tense, but the ex-world champion survived only five games, and then the familiar story repeated itself: another picket fence of units, this time, Fischer won four times in a row.

Before the duel with Boris Spassky, Fischer made endless demands on FIDE, and Spassky had every reason to leave Reykjavik, retaining the crown. But Spassky can only be thanked for his sporting behavior and for not depriving the world of a long-awaited match. The beginning of the match turned out to be chaotic: in the first game, Fischer went too far in a draw and lost, and in the second game he didn't show up at all. In subsequent meetings, Spassky resigned seven times and the matter ended with an early victory for Fischer 12.5:8.5, three games were not needed.

Three years later, Fischer had to defend the championship title, and the grandmaster named sixty-three conditions that had to be met. FIDE satisfied "only" sixty-two and the champion abdicated. Karpov took the throne without making a single move.

Twenty years after Robert's conquest of the crown, the so-called Fischer-Spassky rematch took place. But the euphoria about the resurrection of the champion from non-existence was replaced by disappointment among chess players. Fischer appeared completely different from what was once admired.

Years of loneliness left their mark on his creative appearance. New success did not bring him laurels, especially since the partner was no longer included in the hundred of the strongest players. Playing in Yugoslavia, Fischer violated the political ban, besides, he did not pay taxes, so that in America a prison was waiting for him. But the chess player did not return home, but moved to Budapest.

On the way Fischer met various ladies, but he did not connect his life with any of them. Back in the early 70s, when Robert had just become a champion, he visited the Land of the Rising Sun, and he was asked to play with the best players of the stronger and weaker sex. Lucky Miyoko. In 1974, the girl visited the athlete, and since then they often called each other, corresponded. Later, their sympathy grew into something more, and Fischer moved to Japan.

Once, when boarding a plane flying to the Philippines, Fischer showed his passport, and it turned out that the document was canceled by the American authorities. The man was arrested by immigration and imprisoned pending deportation.

The first to actively intercede for Robert was Miyoko Watai. The Japanese woman called on the world community to save him, to shelter him in some country. And soon the whole world learned that Robert and Miyoko were going to get married, and the defendant made an offer right from prison. In 2005, Fischer was granted political asylum by Iceland, and he received a legal passport. The chess player immediately flew to Reykjavik.

In Iceland, Fischer lived for less than three years, and he was diagnosed with an illness: kidney failure. An operation was required that could save him, but Robert refused it. The man spent his last days in the hospital.

Robert Fisher died on January 17, 2008 at the age of sixty-four. He was buried in the cemetery of the Catholic parish in the town of Selfoss, 50 km from Reykjavik. The great man was seen off only by a few Icelandic friends and his long-term companion Watai. Not a single American was present, not a single member of the press. Such was the will of Fischer.

Robert Fisher was born in Chicago on March 9, 1943. His father, Hans-Gerhard Fischer, was a German biologist, an ideological communist living in the USSR. Mother, Regina Wender, was a Swiss Jewess. Bobby's parents met at Moscow Medical University, where Regina studied. In 1939, they left the USSR, but their paths diverged: Gerhard moved to Chile, and Regina settled in Brooklyn, USA.

The fact that the couple lived separately haunted Fischer's biographers for a long time and gave rise to the version that the real father of the chess player was Paul Nemeny, a mathematician who fled from Germany to the United States during the war years. This version is supported by the fact that Nemeni took an active part in the upbringing of the boy, paid for his studies and helped financially in every possible way.

When Robert was 6 years old, his sister taught him to play chess. He was so carried away by this game that he gradually began to withdraw into himself. Bobby stopped communicating with classmates, and at some point, a worried mother turned to the doctors. Those advised not to interfere with his son's passion, but rather to encourage him. At the age of 10, his mother gave him to a chess club, and he won the first tournament in his life.

At school, Robert also showed unusual abilities. Possessing a phenomenal memory, he independently learned German, Spanish, Russian and Serbo-Croatian. Already at an early age, he freely read foreign chess literature. Bobby has repeatedly said that there is nothing to learn at school, and that all teachers are "stupid". The only intelligent person in the school, according to Fischer, was the gym teacher. He played chess well, so he was almost the only friend of Robert.

In the end, Fischer dropped out of school and devoted his life entirely to his favorite sport. According to Robert, all he wanted to do was play chess. He quarreled with his mother, and she, leaving him an apartment, left. From that moment on, Bobby was left to his own devices.

Path to glory

Robert Fischer's goal was the world championship, and for this he did everything possible. To maintain his health, he was engaged not only in chess, but also in other sports: tennis, skating, swimming, skiing.

Best of the day

At the age of 14, Robert won the US Championship, and at 15 he became an international grandmaster. Most of the famous chess players saw him as just a child with an unusual mindset, but when they started playing, they came across a mature master, ready to do anything to win.

By the way, Fischer was called a "cold-blooded killer." He never spared an opponent and, if possible, crushed him with amazing ruthlessness. One of the most significant cases occurred in 1971, when Robert set a record - 12: 0 in the candidates' matches with Larsen and Taimanov. Not a single professional chess player has experienced such a rout before.

However, all this was later, when Fischer reached the peak of his skill. And at first he studied a lot and often made mistakes. So, in 1959, at his first international tournament, which was held in Yugoslavia, he lost to Mikhail Tal with a dry score 0:4. In games with extra-class grandmasters, Bobby's inexperience was visible: he overestimated his chances and neglected tournament tactics.

However, failures only spurred Fischer to self-improvement. Over time, he began to win brilliant victories, and in 1971, in the fight against applicants, he reached the final, where he defeated Tigran Petrosyan with a score of 6.5:2.5. This gave him the right to fight the reigning world champion Boris Spassky. In 1972, Reykjavik hosted one of the most exciting and passionate games in the history of chess. And Fischer confidently won, becoming the world champion.

Scandals, scandals...

Perhaps Robert Fisher would not have received such fame if not for the constant scandals that accompanied him. In addition, he was a manic person, and possibly mentally ill. He constantly violated the rules, demanded privileges and special treatment. For example, in 1967, at a tournament in Sousse, he called the chief referee a communist because he refused to comply with his requirements and violate the rules. But this case is one of the most innocent. As a rule, if Fischer could not agree on "special" conditions for his stay in the tournament, he did not participate in it at all.

At some point, Robert's oddities reached their climax. In 1975, he withdrew from the world championship match, and FIDE announced Karpov as the new champion. After that, Fischer stopped playing in official tournaments. Until the 90s, he lived in seclusion in the California town of Pasadena, where for some time he even stayed in the religious sect "World Church of the Creator." And then he met by correspondence with the eighteen-year-old chess player Zita Raicany and moved to Hungary.

The story of the brilliant grandmaster did not end there. In 1992, he unexpectedly agreed to the offer of a Yugoslav banker to play a rematch with Spassky. Fischer confidently won, but did not return to the USA. In America, he faced a huge fine and 10 years in prison for violating international law, since the United States at that time declared a boycott of Yugoslavia.

Fischer went to the East. First he lived in the Philippines with Marilyn Young, and then in Japan with his old friend Mieko Watai. In 2000, he secretly moved to America, but three years later his passport was canceled, and soon he was arrested at one of the Japanese airports. A serious international scandal erupted. The United States demanded that the criminal Fischer be handed over to them, but well-known grandmasters stood up for him. Crazy Bobby called his arrest a kidnapping, accused George W. Bush and the Japanese Prime Minister of conspiracy, and did not forget to mention the ubiquitous Jews, once again blaming them for all the world's troubles.

Iceland granted Fischer citizenship, and in 2005 he was deported. He lived his last years in Reykjavik. January 17, 2008 genius and madman Robert Fisher died of kidney failure. He was buried in the cemetery at Selfoss near Reykjavik.

A rabid fanatic, a prisoner of chess...
Friedrich Nietzsche said: "When you look into an abyss, the abyss itself looks into you."
The observation of a great philosopher fits perfectly with the eleventh world chess champion! Bobby at a young age looked into the abyss of chess, gave himself completely to the magical game, put his whole soul into this business! And he was forever lost to the rest of the world. His physical dwelling in space and time has become only an appearance, a shell of the true "I", which was in the power of the chess gods.
It used to be called: sold his soul to the devil. What a temptation to get inhuman opportunities on credit! Gain strength, power, enjoy the fruits of life, reach the desired heights, and pay - later, someday ...
Fischer was different! No one from above (or from the underworld) presented him with a magical gift and unprecedented opportunities. Fischer's head coach has always been Fischer. He made himself, working up a sweat. And he paid for the favor of the abyss during his lifetime. From childhood - tears, nervous breakdowns, immense loneliness. Still paying today...
The cardinal difference from other players was that he saw chess from the inside, because he lived in it. He did not leave the Abyss, which became his home and prison!
I don't think Fischer is the greatest talent in the history of chess. Moreover, I don’t even include it in the top ten! In the second - perhaps. But he was and remains the most fanatical monk of chess. Selfless service, God-given health and energy, asceticism and renunciation of everything worldly - these are the true causes and sources of the greatness of the American champion. What Morphy, Capablanca, Tal and other favorites of Kaissa grasped instantly due to talent, Fischer comprehended in the process of work. As a result of selfless work, he overtook all his predecessors and took a serious step forward.
Precisely because Fischer lived INSIDE chess, he was much more resilient than his opponents, which was reflected during long, intense tournaments and matches. No wonder: a fish spends its whole life in the water, and a bird soars in the air for hours without feeling tired. For Bobby, chess was air, water, food, habitat. His strong and sometimes even more talented opponents only worked at the board, gave all their best, plunging into the chess Abyss in order to emerge after the game, catch their breath, and rest. Fischer always stayed there, at depth. In football terms, the great American has always had home field advantage! So, initially received an advantage.
Fischer was an exceptionally strong, I would even say, a total analyst. In home analysis, he acted on a large scale, studying a large number of openings to the maximum possible depth, all typical middlegame positions. Perfectly mastered all the wisdom of the endgame. He conscientiously studied all the available literature, and perfectly remembered what he had read for many years, and there are many examples of this.
By the beginning of the 70s, by the time he started his ascent, Fischer had become the most erudite player in the world, having absorbed all the chess knowledge accumulated by mankind at that time. It was this total preparation that allowed the American challenger to choose new openings literally in every game of the match in Reykjavik. No one before and no one after him could play in such a style at a high level. The tactic of "sliding openings" was only possible for a 100% fanatic like Fischer.
Chess education, erudition, opening developments - all this can be compared with the muscles of an athlete. Fisher was pumped to the limit! Moreover, each muscle in his chess body was working, performing its function in battle. Not a single drop of fat, nothing extra.
Being a diligent student of Soviet grandmasters, Bobby took the best from them. Bringing together Botvinnik's methodicalness, Smyslov's technique, Tal's imagination, Petrosian's reliability, Spassky's fighting qualities, Geller's opening depth, Fischer added unprecedented energy and huge ambitions to this magnificent cocktail - as a result, he turned out to be an ideal chess player!
What happened to Fischer after winning the title in 1972? I think his earthly shell simply could not stand such a distance from the spiritual substance. It is impossible to be in two places at the same time all your life. The abyss swallowed the world champion whole. He did not play a single game in the rank of world champion! There is a talented young man, there is an all-conquering applicant. And there was no world champion named Fischer ...
Only once - twenty years later in Yugoslavia - did the chess giant manage to reappear for a short time, playing a match with Spassky. I remember that in hot pursuit, the chess world skeptically assessed the efforts of aged fighters. However, the quality of the “rematch” games turned out to be quite high. For example, when Spassky, in the accepted Queen's Gambit with White, took the pawn on c5 and exchanged queens, all the authorities of the chess world called the veteran's decision weak and harmless for Black. However, by a strange coincidence, it was this variation that later became the signature line for Vladimir Kramnik, who proved that it is very difficult for Black to defend in the endgame. Both in the Spanish game and in the King's Indian Defence, the champions demonstrated a number of interesting ideas. Of course, they could no longer boast of valiant imagination and endurance, but they maintained an invariably high level of play.
The debut legacy of Robert James Fisher is colossal! His ideas are generously scattered in various openings. I will note only the branded, most well-known developments.
In the Spanish game, among the many trodden paths, the exchange variation occupies a special place, which before Fischer was considered harmless. However, thanks to high technique and immersion in subtleties, the American managed to put serious problems before Black. In the Sicilian Defence, he used the Sozin attack with deadly effect. White's terrible light-squared bishop crushed more than a dozen strong, well-trained Sicilians. Only by joint efforts were the Soviet grandmasters able to find reliable ways to save Black. With Black, Fischer masterfully executed the King's Indian Defense in response to 1.d4 and the Najdorf Variation in response to 1.e4. On his parties, you can go through a full course of training in these combat, double-edged principles.
Unlike his historical rival Spassky, the eleventh world champion turned out to be completely helpless in life. Here, in the world, outside of his native element, the great chess player has remained just an amateur who has not fully mastered the rules of the game.
Our usual standards do not apply to him. Fisher lives in another dimension...

The computer is the only opponent that finds no excuse when it loses to me.
Bobby Fischer

There are people whom we never cease to admire, even knowing their entire history inside and out, understanding its negative aspects. One such guy is the legendary Robert James Fischer, better known as Bobby Fischer, the first American chess player to win the title of world chess champion.

It seems that we have a lot of really cool chess players, so what attracted us to Fischer? Now we'll tell you.

He was born in Chicago in 1943 and grew up in Brooklyn. His parents were from Russia, although not Russian by origin. This boy started playing chess at the age of 6, and at 15 he already earned the title of international grandmaster.
The turning point in his chess career was in 1972, when Fischer had a legendary fight with our world champion, Boris Spassky. The fight took place in the capital of Iceland, in Reykjavik. Fischer triumphantly won then. And how could he not be happy? 29 years old, and already a world chess champion, and even the first in the country. Well-being and honors from fellow citizens are provided, but not everything is as rosy as we would like. Although he became the 11th world champion, and according to the Chess Informant magazine, he is generally considered the strongest chess player of the 20th century, he was still a strange person.

I will ensure that chess is treated with as much respect as boxing. No matter how much Muhammad Ali asked for his next speech, I will demand more.
Bobby Fischer

His strangeness manifested itself in many things. Since childhood, he loved to quarrel. An episode is known when, as a teenager, he spoke of the school as follows:

There is nothing to learn in school. The teachers are stupid. Women should not be teachers. In my school, only the physical education teacher was not stupid - he played chess well.
Bobby Fischer

Many things are forgiven to geniuses, that's why they are geniuses. Although such statements, most likely, would be the reason for exclusion from the federation of chess players in our time.

At the age of 15, Fischer dropped out of school altogether to devote himself entirely to his favorite game. Quite a bold act for a teenager who had no idea what the future might hold for him, what life was preparing for him. Then he immediately determined for himself that, in addition to mental gymnastics, he also had to train his body. As a result, swimming, tennis, skiing and skating became as commonplace for him as a chessboard. Before each competition, he brought himself into excellent physical shape.

Fisher is living proof that only perseverance and, as well as exhausting preparation, can take you straight to your cherished goal. After all, initially he often lost to his rivals, as, for example, in 1959 at the international tournament in Yugoslavia. The victory then went to Mikhail Tal with a score of 4:0.

I feel great seeing my opponent writhing in his death throes.
Bobby Fischer

He was often treated like a child, smart, in a sense, brilliant, but still a child. All these defeats only provoked Fischer, he trained and eventually began to smash his rivals in such a way that he was given the nickname “cold-blooded killer”. The bottom line was that he did not give mercy to anyone, thereby, in a sense, humiliating the opponent. Usually the community of chess players has some unspoken rules of decency, Fischer did not have them, a complete and crushing victory was important for him. For example, in 1971 he participated in Candidates matches with Larsen and Taimanov, the final score of which was a crushing 12:0.

Fischer at a fairly young age was able to overcome inexperience, ignorance and achieve the highest title in one of the most difficult games in the world. His duel with Spassky is rightfully considered one of the most spectacular battles in the history of chess.

If someone has been world champion for many years, this does not mean that he is a great chess player, just as we will not call a ruler great just because he reigned for a long time.
Bobby Fischer

Although, perhaps, Fischer would not have become such a cult figure in the world of chess, if not for the scandals that accompanied him everywhere.
Many believed then that he was a real maniac, or at least a definitely unbalanced person. Before each tournament, he had his own requirements, unfamiliar to other participants. His desires were not astronomical, everything was from the area of ​​​​comfort (only luxury rooms) and the time of the tournament (he played only in the evenings). But the organizers of chess competitions are not accustomed to such treatment. Once, in 1967, in one of the tournaments, Fischer even called the chief judge a communist because his rider was not completed. You must understand that during the Cold War, the word "communist" was the most terrible curse word for a good half of the world, just as the word "capitalist" was a curse word in our country.

Of particular interest is Bobby's behavior after the 1972 game, his most important game. He simply evaporated, disappeared for two decades, completely unwilling to contact the public, chess players and the press. He didn't even defend his title in 1975. Then, as you may know, the title passed into the hands of Karpov, without a fight.

Since then, Fischer has always lived in seclusion. Until the 90s he lived in Pasadena, California. There, for some time, he was listed among the followers of the "World Church of the Creator" sect. Bobby was a surprisingly religious person. And quite likely, he found some mysticism in the chessboard itself. He hated journalists, but he clearly treated other strangers with hostility.

Fischer is painfully honest. If he believes that the principle is involved, money does not play any role for him. As well as the opinions of others.
Ed Edmonson

There was another game in his career that he played again with Boris Spassky. It took place in 1992, exactly 20 years later. It was kind of a rematch. The prize money for the rematch was $5 million. The game itself was essentially outside American law, but Fischer didn't care. He broke the boycott between the US and Yugoslavia by taking part in it. Bobby beat Spassky again and got his 3.5 million. However, he spent the rest of his life on the run from the US government. He never returned to his native land: he was threatened with a huge fine and 10 years in prison for breaking the law.

In 2004, Fischer was arrested at the Tokyo airport for trying to leave Japan without a passport. Fischer at that time was clearly out of his mind. Or maybe he just mocked the press. But Bobby explained his arrest as a conspiracy organized by US President George W. Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. To everything else, the chess player added the eternal "It's all the fault of the Jews." The latter suggests the idea that he still mocked, because he himself had many representatives of this nationality in his relatives. The US government demanded to extradite their "criminal" to them, but everything was decided in a different way. Many world grandmasters came to the defense of the famous crazy chess player. In Japan, Bobby was under arrest until May 2005, when he managed to enlist the support of the Icelandic government by obtaining Icelandic citizenship. Fischer spent the last years of his life in his new homeland. This eccentric man died in the winter of 2008.

Despite all its oddities, it can definitely be called a kind of reference point for many chess players in the world, and just for ordinary people. Its features: to tell the truth in person, not to be afraid of the consequences, not to be afraid to violate social norms and do what only the heart wants. This is very impressive, especially in a world that is simply drowning in rules that throw chains on free, but unpleasant opinion.